And I began to wonder what was happening in the palace. Was Pharaoh quietly pursuing his investigations into the lives of the names I had given him? Were his men watching the plotters as they hatched a new scheme? Would I ever have the satisfaction of seeing Hui’s smug, cold world dismembered?
Then Ramses would remember me. Then he would send to Aswat. He might even come himself. His Herald would approach my hut. I would be invited aboard the royal barge but of course I could not go in such a state, so Ramses would send his serving women to bathe and oil me, massage soothing creams into my poor feet and abused hands, dress my hair and paint my face, clothe me in shimmering linen and put precious gems about my neck and arms. Then, with new sandals on my feet, surrounded by an aura of saffron, protected by a sunshade, I would leave the hut and walk proudly, so proudly, to Wepwawet’s watersteps and up the ramp into my lover’s embrace.
Until then I will continue to play the dutiful servant of the servants of my totem. I will continue to dance alone at night among the dunes of the desert. And I will continue to write this, the story of my rise and fall, in secret, on papyrus I am able to steal from the temple storehouse. When I am finished, who knows? I may give it into Pa-ari’s keeping as a legacy, so that one day it may find its way to my son. Or I may entrust it to one of the royal Heralds who ply the river on the business of the crown and it may appear on Pharaoh’s desk some bright summer morning. The future is a perilous adventure, after all. Who knows?
THE END
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PAULINE GEDGE
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THE HIPPOPOTAMUS MARSH
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THE OASIS
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SCROLL of SAQQARA
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House of Dreams Page 52
